Does it Hurt?
by robstar.winchester
Summary: "What do you want?" He spoke out to the blackened area, watching the figure sway underneath the darkness. From the darkness, the voice replied "Everything." One-shot.


AN; This is a quick one-shot I made b/c I saw this picture that was emotional and I thought of Robin and Starfire and ughhhh my emotions!

So here I am writing about angsty Robstar

R&R please!

Enjoy and cry!:D

* * *

"You aren't real." His eyes narrowed behind his masked, covering the true feelings he was hiding. The mask protected him, it was a cover up. He had to cover up, it was his only option.

"And you are positive?" The voice rang in the boys mind; his feet staggering back from the figure moving towards him. The voice, so sweet and innocent, it couldn't be real. It had to be fake.

He wasn't going to fall for it. She wasn't real. This wasn't happening. He must be dreaming or training in a simulator somehow.

"Stop coming towards me or I'll have no choice but to attack." He stressed the words to the moving figure, his bow staff in hand. The figure only chuckled, making the boy wonder flinch with discomfort. "You seem so confident that I am not the real yet you threaten to attack a nonexistent person? Please do explain you thought process." The figure taunted, stopping over a stoplight that flickered on and off and stayed off. Robin's heartbeat raced, his grip tightening around his bow staff and quickly scanned the darkened area.

The figure before him didn't move underneath the spotlight and Robin knew the person wanted him to attack, but he wasn't going to. It wasn't real after all, so why attack? Robin knew if this was some sort of test, he'd fail if he didn't attack yet if he did what would he gain? Would he fail for attacking or would he fail for not attacking?

"What do you want?" He spoke out to the blackened area, watching the figure sway underneath the darkness. It was provoking him to make his blood boil, but he couldn't feel the anger building up. He only felt scared.

From the darkness, the voice replied "Everything." and stepped toward Robin again, but this time Robin didn't step back. He stepped forward to the figure. "Stop." Robin whispered, holding out his bow staff and placing it underneath the figures chin. The figure seemed to enjoy the action, taking a hold of the staff and breaking it in half, causing Robin to step away with half of his bow staff in hand.

"Does it hurt?" The figure questioned, the other half of the bow staff in their hand.

"Does what hurt?" He mused, confusion flowing through his thoughts. There was no time to be confused and he mentally scowled himself for even asking a question. If he wanted to get out, he had to stop investing his time in the mysterious figure.

But he couldn't stop.

"Knowing that you cannot save everyone you love?" The voice went on.

"Knowing that you are not a born leader, not a desirable friend, not a trustworthy human-?"

His body went numb.

"Shut up." He growled, the broken half of the staff in his hand while his other hand clenched into to a tight fist.

"Does it hurt?" The voice asked once again.

"No." He answered back, the harshness in his voice now available for the figure to hear.

"Would it hurt if I claimed it to be your fault for everything?" The voice began to get louder. "Would it hurt if it was your fault I cried myself to sleep? Would it hurt if I was damaged due to your actions? Would it hurt then?" The voice was harsher and furious at this point, reaching out at grabbing the collar of Robin's uniform and threw him off to the side. Distraught, Robin blinked behind his mask, moving away from the figure charging back at him.

"It is your fault!" The voice screamed.

"You're not real!" Robin yelled back, moving away from the figure and dodging each blow with the broke half of his staff placed behind him to avoid using.

"Why must you constantly lie to yourself?" The voice begged, throwing as many punches and kicks as possible just so it could to land a spot on Robin that would be enough to knock him over. The figure was successful in hitting him a few times, cutting up his uniform in the process and giving him a bloody nose.

"I'm not lying!" He was getting irritated by the claims, but there was a part of him that wondered if these were true. He refused to even believe these claims were true—yet, he felt deeply disheartened when the voice told him that they were.

"When will you understand yourself? You do not wish to hurt others, yet you do! You wish to save everyone, to protect the ones you love when all you accomplish is killing the bonds you have gained! You will never see the lies you hide behind, you will never open up to see your true feelings because it leaves you vulnerable! The Boy Wonder cannot be vulnerable—he cannot have feelings, he cannot love nor cherish because it is always taken from him, is that not true?" The figure stopped, the moonlight casting down on the both of them.

"You aren't real." He mumbled softly, a lump rising in his throat.

"Does it hurt now?" Robin could finally see the figure fully underneath the moonlight, his chest aching from the sight. There before him stood his best friend, Starfire.

"No." He pushed the words out, but the lump in his throat stung each passing second he held it back.

Starfire sneered at the response; her fists tightening and gradually made her way to him to strike again. This time as she approached, Robin had leaned forward with the broken part of the staff faced towards her and plunged it beneath her chest.

Eyes widened, Starfire fell limp and slowly was gathered into Robin's arms, a light smile holding back the lump. Starfire placed a hand on the spot where she had been stabbed, her hand engulfed in blood when it was removed. Life fading before her eyes, Starfire looked up at Robin and removed his mask from his face, gently smiling back at him with her bloody hand lingering against his cheek.

"Does it hurt now?" She asked him, her eyelids drifting downwards. Robin held her, his eyes exposed and no longer able to hide himself from her. A single tear dropped from both eyes, his hand reaching up and removing her hand from his cheek.

"You're not real, Star." He whimpered, the smile he held attempting to stay strong.

"But look what you did?"

He took a moment to look at the staff lodge into Starfire before clutching onto the girl harder, the tears falling faster and blurring his vision. He just killed a bond he cherished, just like she said. He literally killed the one he wanted to protect and it was he who was the one to take the opportunity from himself. He was his own personal enemy.

"I'm sorry." He cried. The one he cared for was now lying completely limp in his arms, blood seeping down and staining the two. It took him a few moments to say anything else, but once he was able to, he pulled her in tight and mutter-

"It hurts now."

* * *

Suddenly jolting up from his desk, Robin had fallen asleep on a couple of files he had been working on. It didn't register in his mind that it was all a dream and the feelings and emotions of holding a limp friend in his arms was still rolling in the boys heart. He didn't care that he choked on a sob right at the moment. His heartbeat was faster and his breathing became uneven—it all didn't matter to him anymore to be strong. He didn't bother to look anywhere or check if his door was closed before he began unraveling his emotions.

He didn't care if he didn't look like a leader anymore. He was a human being. He deserved to be vulnerable and let loose of his emotions whenever he felt.

"Robin?" Starfire woke up from where she was resting on Robin's bed, rubbing her eyes and gazing up at her leader. Earlier she came in to accompany Robin while he worked and accidentally ended up falling asleep on his bed, but she was woken up by the sudden sound of a distressed cry.

The leader stiffened up, his gaze locked on the redhead a few feet away. The tear stains are what caused the Tamaranean to sit up straight, her eyes lowering in concern. He wasn't wearing his mask anymore which only meant something wasn't right.

"I'm sorry." Robin croaked, rushing over to her side, holding her in his arms tightly. Starfire was initially shocked by his actions, but held him back without asking him any questions.

"There is no need to apologize." She murmured sweetly, stroking the back of his head. He was trembling in her arms, holding onto her and he didn't even try to shut off the tears. He was tired of doing that. He wanted a free day to show his agony, to show the deep level of sadness he had buried down inside him.

Soon, the crying relaxed and gradually died down.

"Are you hurting because of me?" His voice was low as he pulled away from her, his eyes drifting down to the bed sheets. Confused, Starfire looked puzzled at him before asking "Why would you ask such a question?" When no answer came from him, Starfire went on. "The answer is no."

He looked up at her, taking a deep breath. "You're lying."

Starfire chuckled at the accusation and leaned over to place a hand on his cheek.

"I am not."

Robin cracked a smile finally, placing his hand on top of hers. He didn't feel bad anymore. She just had this effect on him.

Just for one night he'll let himself be vulnerable.

And he'd be vulnerable with her.

"Do you wish for me to go? It is awfully late and—" Before she could even finished her statement, he had moved away from where he sat and moved to the top of his bed, patting the side where she had been lying before she woke up.

"Stay with me?" He asked.

A toothy grin was the reply he got from her.

She traveled to the other side of the bed where Robin awaited. When she was finally settled in, he wrapped his arms around her and snuggle in close.

"Let's do this more often." He chuckled sleepily, his eyes halfway open.

"Indeed." She muffled, her eyes closed as her hand intertwined with Robin's.

And he fell asleep, the nightmare not daring to haunt his thoughts with the one he loved in his arms.

* * *

AN; Originally I wasn't going to have this happy ending with Robin waking up. I was just going to be the nightmare and that was it-but I decided to be nice and give you guys a nice ending!


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